Over the past several decades, the amount of electronics has exploded in automobiles, pick-up trucks, commercial trucks, semi-trucks, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and sports utility vehicles (collectively “motor vehicles”). Electronics are used to improve performance, control emissions, and provide creature comforts to the occupants and users of the motor vehicles. Motor vehicles are a challenging electrical environment due to vibration, heat, and longevity. Heat, vibration, and aging can all lead to connector failure. In fact, loose connectors, both in the assembly plant and in the field, are one of the largest failure modes for motor vehicles. Considering that just the aggregate annual accrual for warranty by all of the automotive manufacturers and their direct suppliers is estimated at between $50 billion and $150 billion, worldwide, a large failure mode in automotive is associated with a large dollar amount.
Considerable time, money, and energy has been expended to find connector solutions that meet all of the needs of the motor vehicles market. The current common practice is to use an eyelet and threaded fastener on all high-power connections. The current common practice is expensive, time-consuming, and still prone to failure. The current common practice is expensive mostly due to the labor involved in driving a threaded fastener into a connector in a non-standard fashion. Every connection, and every connector requiring a fastener, is seemingly different.
To add to the complexity, wiring harnesses are also variable. The installation and connection of harnesses within the motor vehicle is prone to error, expensive, and failure during the life of the vehicle. Much of the expense of a vehicle is assembly. Efforts to improve the reliability and performance of connectors and harnesses in motor vehicles invariably adds expense to assembly.
The market needs to standardize on a more appropriate, integrated connector and harness solution must be standardized. The ideal solution is one that eases manufacturing while also insuring a robust, reliable electrical connection.